This invention relates to an inline control apparatus that employs the Internet to control knitting machines and particularly a control apparatus that uses the Internet to monitor knitting machines utilization status at user sites and perform remote control functions.
Conventionally, knitting machine manufacturers produce knitting machines and ship to customers or users for on-site installation. Users are responsible for knitting machine operation to fabricate fabrics or other desired products. Users generally also take care of routine machine maintenance and troubleshooting. However, when there is a serious machine malfunction or breakdown, producers will be requested to dispatch skilled and experienced people for doing on-site repairs and maintenance to minimize users"" interruption of the operation. When the machines are installed at remote locations or overseas, on-site visits of the producer could become difficult to arrange or be delayed due to travel and transportation problems. This could cause a prolonged machine outage and result in great loss to the users.
In order to remedy this problem, some knitting machine manufacturers have used the Internet to link the users at remote locations to get machine operation status, and to advise users regarding maintenance and adjustment issues. On-site visit for repairs and maintenance will be arranged only at critical and necessary conditions. Although this approach may resolve many communication problems between the manufacturers and users, it still cannot directly control or adjust the knitting machines through the Internet. Users have to do most of the repairs and adjustment work under the direction of manufacturers.
Moreover, the Internet linked knitting machines and peripheral devices have specific station identification numbers (ID numbers). In the event of a peripheral device malfunction or disorder, the peripheral devices connected to other stations cannot be switched for backup operation due to control software not being functional to recognize a different ID number. This could result in prolonged machine outage and cause serious damage to the users.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an Internet inline control method for knitting manufacturers to directly monitor and adjust the user""s knitting machines and peripheral devices installed at remote locations so that user""s problems may be fixed rapidly, and the peripheral devices installed at every station may be mutually backed up or interchanged to effectively resolve the machine malfunction or outage problems.
In order to achieve the aforesaid object, the Internet inline control apparatus of this invention includes a producer computer processor, a user computer processor, an intelligent communication unit, a human machine interface, a control unit and peripheral devices. Through the Internet, this apparatus enables the producer to monitor and directly adjust knitting machines installed at the remote locations of the user site.